Robert Allen

Structural Design
Proposal to redevelop the existing University of Southampton Science Park, Building 89
Supervisors
Alastair McDonald, Howard Clarke, Professor David Richards

A steel truss large ‘shed’ with ancillary facilities designed to replace an existing pre-cast concrete structure and provide an open floor plate allowing for potential future sub-division and flexibility. Three Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) structures connect to the main structure and provide storage facilities, offices, meeting rooms, flexible space, and ancillary accommodation for the building.

The proposed structure sits between two existing statutorily protected Lime Tree avenues and aims to maximise the useable floor area of the laboratory without detrimentally effecting the protected trees, in particular their root protection zones. The CLT structures are located within open sections of the tree avenue, helping to maximise the site area and connect the proposed building and it’s user experience to its surrounding environment.

The existing floor slab has been maintained to reduce the disruption during construction, minimise the waste removal from site, and utilise it’s embodied energy. The truss system is supported by sixteen steel columns which in turn are supported by concrete mass pad foundations.

The steel structure is clad in frosted glass planks creating a semi-transparent façade and allowing defused natural light into the building. The building glows when lit from within to reveal the ghosted form of its primary structure.